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A small price to pay for a free place to live while I searched for jobs.
“So after the mating thing is over, we can split and call it good?” I checked.
Honestly, I hated that idea. If I was going to get even slightly attached to someone, I didn’t want to walk away. I was tired of being alone, and the instant-husband thing would make up for that, at least slightly.
“Not exactly. Your wolves will constantly run to each other. You can choose to have a friendly mating rather than a sexual one, and if you choose that, you’ll remain companions rather than actual spouses who sleep together,” the same guy from earlier explained.
“Well, then, I’m in.” I flashed the wolf a quick grin. He gave me a wolfish grin back, then licked my arm.
“That’s a kiss,” Tea added. “When he licks you.”
“Of course it is. He’s just a big ole’ dog, isn’t he?” I crouched in front of him, scratching his head. “How do I draw the hunting part out? To keep him in wolf form longer?”
There was another pause. “Make him believe you don’t want to be a werewolf, I guess,” one of the guys offered.
“I don’t want to be a werewolf,” I informed the wolf, scratching behind his ears.
He licked my face, clearly not buying the words any more than I had.
“How long will he be hunting for?”
“Could be a day, could be a year.” One of the guys shrugged. “No way to know.”
Ah.
“I’ll just have to enjoy it while it lasts, I guess,” I said.
For the first time since we entered the house, I looked around. “Holy shit.”
The place was an utter disaster. It was an open floorplan, so I could see the entire dining area, kitchen, and living room from where we stood just inside the back door. It wasn’t massive, but wasn’t tiny by any definition. After living in a dorm room, it may as well have been a mansion.
But papers littered every inch of the countertops and table. Boxes of cereal and other foods were stacked up against the edges of the kitchen. The couch in the living room was a legitimate clothing mountain.
The floor was covered in more clothes, papers, and who knew what other shit. One corner of the living room had a literal tower of toilet paper, tampons, and other toiletries. The other corner held boxes of what looked like furniture, stacked all the way to the ceiling.
“Shit,” one of the guys muttered.
“Did you know his house looked like this?” Tea asked, and when I glanced at her, I realized she was looking at all five of the guys with us.
The wolf licked my arm a couple times, and I glanced down at him. He was looking at me with sad puppy-dog eyes, and when he licked my arm again, I realized he was trying to apologize.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “I won’t hold you accountable for the dirty human’s actions.”
The wolf licked me again, seeming happier, and I scratched his head again.
“Rocco’s had a lot going on,” one of the guys explained quickly. “His house didn’t used to look like this. I’ve been outside, dragging him around to do shit, but I didn’t realize…” he grimaced, his gaze sweeping the room. “Damn.”
“I don’t even want to see the upstairs,” someone muttered.
“It’s cool. I’ll deal with the mess.” I gestured toward the house.
“We’ll grab some cleaning shit and help,” one of the guys said.
“No.” My words came out much harsher than I intended, and silence met me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I like my personal space. I’d rather clean on my own.”
More silence.
Shit, I’d messed up.
